


Fandom History Hitching Post

by Moon6Shadow



Series: Fandom Meta [6]
Category: Fandom - Fandom, No Fandom
Genre: Don't copy to another site, Fandom, Fandom history, Gen, Hitching Post, Reposting is only allowed for historic preservation with credit; not for personal or financial gain., Resource List, WIP
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-13
Updated: 2019-11-13
Packaged: 2021-01-29 08:03:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21406894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moon6Shadow/pseuds/Moon6Shadow
Summary: -Purge fandom history and warnings about creators with anti fandom history.-Hope and links to messages from Fandom Olds at the end.-Hitching Post is a work in progress and may be updated or edited without warning.
Series: Fandom Meta [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1516400
Kudos: 3





	Fandom History Hitching Post

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: This is intended as a linking post and not graphic but given fandom history and purges tend to revolve around issues like sex, underage, LGBT+, noncon/rape, incest those topics may end up coming up. If not now then potentially in the future.
> 
> The spacing plays up every time I edit, update this, so if the spacing is off that's probably why. :)

**Basic Knowledge:**

[ ** _ Fancontent has to be free to survive _ ** ](https://theagelesswanderer.tumblr.com/post/189124287294/important-flurbejurbvondurp-this-is-so-fucking)

**First most important rule of fandom,_ respect the rights of the published content owners.  
_**

This means **credit** and it means your **_fancontent_**_** must be free**_. If you ever want to get donations of any kind _**do not attach**_ it to your AO3 account, _**do not mention**_ it in relations to your fancontent. **_It must remain separate_**, _it must **always** remain separate_.

Fancontent has survived _a lot _you need only look at it's history to confirm that, but people have worked _hard_ to make it so. AO3 was literally created [_by fans for fans_](https://fireofthestars.tumblr.com/post/188258823812/purge-of-2002-of-2012-what-are-those) so we would have a _Archive of Our Own, _a place that is _safe,_ _but it can only remain safe_ **_as long as the content on it is free_**.

So please ensure you _never_ ask for donations or link donation sites on AO3.

Those rules are there for a _reason_, and that reason is **to protect fandom_, to protect us._**

_ **Respect the rights of the published content owners. ** _

**Is The. Most. Important. Rule.** O**f. Fandom**.

Please, _please_ be mindful of and respect that if you want fandom to continue.

-

**Disclaimers, Credit & Tags:**

Fics used to _always_ start with a disclaimer, **_they had to, to avoid being sued or taken down._**

These days people don't use disclaimers, or don't they?

From a certain point of view, **_tags are a disclaimer_**, it might not look like it at first but they are _still there_ ensuring credit is given where credit is due.

So even if tags may or may not be counted as an official disclaimer, I suggest people treat them as such when it comes to places like tumblr etc. and include the credit in the _original post_ rather then expecting people to carry over the tags perfectly each time. _No matter how popular or widely recognised the show is or has been! _

C_redit_,_** always credit!**_

Preferably in a way that includes a _title name,_ not a star * link that might go dead, thank you! <3

* * *

**Important Warnings:** ** **

  * [Do NOT trust Anne Rice](https://www.tumblr.com/reblog/188285293990/YTROCJhr) (2019) - and a bunch of other authors when it comes to fanfiction. Seriously read it. Disclaimers used to be the norm for a reason.

"...in 2000 she went on a binge-attack against her fans. She threatened legal action against fans who wrote or drew her characters, but especially those who wrote with them. She sent them weeks of harassing letters and doxxed them on the internet.

Let me repeat that.

She doxxed people who wrote fan fiction.

She harassed them online and threatened to contact employers.

She used her fans to outright attack other fans.

This isn’t even something she can just shake off now, with the comment of “It was so long ago” because she did this to a writer who wrote commentary on her story in 2013.

In 2013." - [rsasai ](https://rsasai.tumblr.com/post/153719216358)

"She hates fan fiction and WILL try to sue you. DO NOT think this is a joke, real people received real legal paperwork from her. And this happened about ten years ago, so it wasnt a super long time ago." - [kaylapocalypse ](https://kaylapocalypse.tumblr.com/post/153834688859)

-Ten years might sound like a long time to some people, trust me it's _really not_.

**Quick Fandom History lesson: **

Tumblr story time: [Why fans created AO3, an _Archive **Of Our Own**_](https://fireofthestars.tumblr.com/post/188258823812/purge-of-2002-of-2012-what-are-those) (linked in 'fanfic has to be free to survive' section)

"The Great Purges of 2002 and 2012 are when ff.net got a wild hair up their ass about THINK OF THE CHILDREN and nuked any fic posted on there that was explicit. Thousands upon thousands of nc-17 smutfics were lost." - systlin

**This has happened _multiple_ times.**

See:

  * [A New History of Fandom Purges](https://www.tumblr.com/reblog/189068949554/tVy8tLtW/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Folderthannetfic.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F189068949554%2Fa-new-history-of-fandom-purges) by [olderthannetfic](https://olderthannetfic.tumblr.com/post/188360541394) (2019) - has a timeline of the fandom purges and jailing, 1992-2019. There is _at least_ one thing per year from 2000 on, often multiple things per year.
  * [AO3 is for all kinds of fanWORKS too](https://olderthannetfic.tumblr.com/post/183084581579/ao3-is-for-all-kinds-of-fanworks-too) by [olderthannetfic](https://olderthannetfic.tumblr.com/post/183084581579) \- If you have content you need to back up and it's not fanfics, _you can save them here as well_.

**Fandom Purges:**

This is just a drop of water in the ocean, see the [A New History of Fandom Purges](https://www.tumblr.com/reblog/189068949554/tVy8tLtW/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Folderthannetfic.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F189068949554%2Fa-new-history-of-fandom-purges) by [olderthannetfic](https://olderthannetfic.tumblr.com/post/188360541394) as mentioned above.

**Live Journal and other sites:**

  * I don't really know about LiveJournal etc. aside from the fact it was _massive_.

**FanFiction.Net, 2002:**

  * _On September 12, 2002, FanFiction.Net banned and removed material that was rated [NC-17](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPAA_film_rating_system).  
_
  * _Lists; __Until April 21, 2002, in addition to fiction stories based on existing characters, the site had a section devoted to lists, generally humor-related, for example "20 Ways to Dump Your Girlfriend". _-[FanFiction.Net, Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FanFiction.Net)

** _ FanFiction.Net, 2005: _ **

  * _CYOA (Choose-Your-Own-Adventure)/Reader-Insertion fics; __These have been banned since 2005, and the site removed all material that had the potential of inserting the reader into a fanfiction. Under the heading of "Entries not allowed," Item #5 says: Any form of interactive entry: choose your adventure, second person/you based, Q&As, etc. _
  * _Songfics; __In 2005, FanFiction.net banned [songfics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songfic) which contain copyrighted lyrics. [Public domain](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain) lyrics (such as those to "[Amazing Grace](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazing_Grace)") or lyrics written by the author of the fanfiction are allowed, however. _-[FanFiction.Net, Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FanFiction.Net)_  
_

**FanFiction.Net, 2012:**

  * [Update on AO3 performance issues](http://transformativeworks.org/update-ao3-performance-issues) — _[Organization for Transformative Works](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organization_for_Transformative_Works)_, June 11, 2012
  * [Article] [The Book Burning That Wasn't: Thousands of Works of Fiction Destroyed and No One Pays Attention](https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/hannah-ellison/fanfiction-the-book-burning-that-was_b_1592689.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9lbi53aWtpbmV3cy5vcmcv&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAADtEUYEEz7Cr6r8WKLs2M5uo1WItzBMD0spH-6d0_UNIcJ9epRZ1sWAGSshlKipPESKujl7on54z_0tc8bJ5qPokr2jLi-68vq9G_I0dI8LIp5jdwnSgiyuEwXt-6P5Vq_mEYMewcxklbruUUgR6xe35VfAalH1GhuhV-RKZQhvH) by [Hannah Ellison](https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/author/hannah-ellison),  June 13, 2012
  * [Article] [FanFiction.Net adult content purge felt across fandom two weeks on](https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/FanFiction.Net_adult_content_purge_felt_across_fandom_two_weeks_on)by [Wiki News](https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Main_Page)

**Ratings:**

  * **Fanfition.Net, 2005:** _Writers may upload their stories to the site and assign them a category and rating (such as K, K+, T, and M). The ratings are no longer done on the MPAA system, due to cease-and-desist demands from the [Motion Picture Association of America](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_Picture_Association_of_America) in 2005. -_[FanFiction.Net, Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FanFiction.Net)

\--

[The New York Times] [Please Don't Call It a G-Rated Dispute](https://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/18/business/media/please-dont-call-it-a-grated-dispute.html) By Pamela Licalzi O'Connell -  Where Wiki got it's info from. It's only for registered users but an account is free if you want to read it.  


Basically Motion Picture Association of America put their foot down on their ratings being 'ripped off' despite the ratings being used by lots more people then fandom and commonly being used in casual conversation etc.  


_"ratings such as PG and R are not exclusive to the association, since they are used by some foreign film boards."_ \- Heidi Tandy

**Meta:**

  * (Short) [You can tell someone's fandom age by how aggressively they save fanfic](https://nyxelestia.tumblr.com/post/161945247455/you-can-tell-someones-fandom-age-by-how) by [nyxelestia ](https://nyxelestia.tumblr.com/post/161945247455)
  * [Fandom is NOT mostly slash](https://olderthannetfic.tumblr.com/post/154780855834/fandom-is-not-mostly-slash) by [olderthannetfic ](https://olderthannetfic.tumblr.com/post/154780855834)

Basically why AO3 may seem to have an abundance of slash since m/m lovers were driven out of other sites like FF.Net. AO3 is now fandoms safe place, a real safe place for _everyone_, that allows everything and isn't likely to stab us unexpectedly in the back and delete content anytime soon. Hence why AO3 likely has more slash then m/f content.

As part of the m/m lovers who were driven out of FF.Net I can confirm that m/m lovers did not feel safe on FF.Net. The Great Purges of FanFiction I was in was 2012, it's currently 2019, I have barely touched FF.Net in all those years aside from the occasional fit of nostalgia and looking up old favourites. Losing FF.Net was like losing our home, a home that betrayed us unexpectedly and without warning, you don't just forget that over night.

Also, AO3 is very well set up for fics so there was no real reason to go back to FF.Net and try to make things work, AO3 has bookmark notes and tags on top of their acceptance of all fics, for a start. Which wasn't really the case with the Tumblr NSFW ban in 2018, where people were scrambling for a similar social site to migrate to that was in some way similar. The Tumblr purge went down very differently from the FF.Net, even if purges in general are familiar.

-

**Don't Like, Don't Read and Do not eat the Dead Dove:  
**

  * [Why I get so up in arms over “those” fics](https://blissful-heartbreak.tumblr.com/post/188542641626/why-i-get-so-up-in-arms-over-those-fics) by [fataldrum](https://fataldrum.tumblr.com/post/159318598132) \+ others, [Queer and Dark fics](https://thepopculturejunky.tumblr.com/post/189072489853/why-i-get-so-up-in-arms-over-those-fics) by [thepopculturejunky ](https://thepopculturejunky.tumblr.com/post/189072489853)
  * [Why does anti hate aged-up so much? Isn’t it actually better than with the original age?](https://scout-ing-for-myself.tumblr.com/post/182452517125/question) by [fiction-is-not-reality2](https://fiction-is-not-reality2.tumblr.com/post/182228678017/question) \+ others

* * *

** _Hope_ **

** _Fancontent has been going strong for a long time_  
**

[[Quote](https://spockslash.tumblr.com/post/167458075621/the-end-of-star-trek-fandom)] “The time is coming when Star Trek will no longer be able to maintain the fannish activity which it has inspired.” 

–Spockanalia 4, spring 1969, when TOS was ending, posted by [spockslash ](https://spockslash.tumblr.com/post/166678579824)

“50 years later…” - [idrilearfalas ](https://idrilearfalas.tumblr.com/post/172268240170) [ spockslash ](https://spockslash.tumblr.com/post/167458075621)(2019)

[stillboldlygoing](https://stillboldlygoing.tumblr.com/post/164907934653):

If the world ever leaves you feeling hopeless, remember that Star Trek was cancelled twice and deemed an utter failure; then rose from the ashes to become the flagship for all of science fiction, spawning six spin-offs, fourteen movies, and enough novels to keep the fires burning through the Long Night. Oh, and inspired new technology, popularized fan fiction, created slash, forged the foundation for modern fan culture, and pushed young people to the sciences. A show that was fucking cancelled. CANCELLED!

So. When it gets bad out there, just… be Star Trek.

**BE STAR TREK.**

  * [An open Tumblr letter to younger fans, from a 77-year-old TOS fangirl](https://spockslash.tumblr.com/post/166678579824/an-open-tumblr-letter-to-younger-fans-from-a) by [spockslash](https://spockslash.tumblr.com/post/166678579824) RIP, her blog continues to remain up and has a lot of fandom history on it. <3

  * [Article] [A 50-year Trekkie bestows Star Trek history upon the next generation: How fandom and fanfiction sparked the galaxy’s most controversial romance](https://www.csindy.com/coloradosprings/a-50-year-trekkie-bestows-star-trek-history-upon-the-next-generation-how-fandom-and-fanfiction-sparked-the-galaxys-most-controversial-romanc/Content?oid=14273176)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you everyone for reading!! <3
> 
> #Fandom for Fun, so not looking for critics but pretty much all polite feedback including Whisper and Murmur comments are totally welcome. If you've left feedback in the form of kudos, bookmarks and/or comments I likely won't see feedback immediately, but I will see it eventually so thank you!! 
> 
> Open series to see my detailed [LLF Comment Project](https://longlivefeedback.tumblr.com/llfcommentproject) statement or see [Poetry and Short Stories](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1007304) series notes for my Blanket Permission Statement but basically, as long as you credit, yes you can.


End file.
